mbsilvana@yahoo.com
standard disclaimers
Notes: I use a mixture of Japanese and Chinese names. My knowledge
on Chinese culture isn't the greatest, so there may be some mistakes in
that reguard. For the purposes of this fic, we're assuming
Amiboshi was killed in OAV1 (it was never made clear- someone said that
since Mits was there, he could have been healed, but I point out that Mits
had tried to use his power to heal Tamahome).
Lyrics for part one translated by Tasuki no Miko; used with permision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The seed of the future is in the present
What do you wanna do!? Let 'em know you wanna do this!
A trusting heart has power it realizes dreams from magic
-Tasuki
Do=Be's ga Yatte Kuru (The Do=Be's Come)
Satei stood in the
courtyard, for once free of the tedious duties of the court.
He was fourth in line to the throne, far enough away that he was safe from
any immediate threat of becoming Emperor, but too close to really have
much of a life outside of his court duties. One of his few
pleasures was sword-work, something he indulged in with almost a feverish
passion whenever he got the chance. He felt pity for his cousin Boushin,
though he would never admit it. His cousin had been Emperor
all his young life and had never known anything else, yet Satei knew almost
instinctively how lonely the position must have been.
Never to have had a father, aside from the stories of the legendary Hotohori.
It was a wonderful thing that his father had been one of the seishi, but
stories were a cold comfort to a child as he grew up. Satei had always
tried to fill in this gap in whatever way he could, even though the Emperor
was two years his senior.
Still,
right now, thoughts of his more important relative faded as he balanced
the long blade in his hand. The sword was easily three
feet long, but he wielded it as though it was a knife- short and easily
controlled. He spun into a few graceful katas, losing himself in
the sensation of the cool steel in his grasp. This sword could
kill in his hands. Rapidly he executed a few graceful feints.
Applause caused him
to spin around, cursing his naiveté. No one should be
able to enter this part of the courtyard without being a member of the
royal family, and he had allowed that knowledge to lull him into a sense
of security. He held the sword in front of him in a guard position,
ready to protect himself if necessary. Satei knew that, logically,
he should be screaming for the guards right about now, but he had been
fiercely independent as long as he could remember, and that was something
he couldn't change about his nature.
"Who are you?" he
demanded, trying to sight the person who had applauded.
A slender figure dropped
out of the trees, landing on the ground like a cat. The
person was very slight, only coming to his shoulder. He looked
like a very young fifteen, and Satei noticed that he was holding a part
of his shirt like it was a little sack. The boy had long blue-violet
hair that was braided loosely down his back to where the tip was tucked
into a sash at his waist. The boy's brilliant purple eyes looked
out from underneath long eyelashes, and Satei fought down a feeling of
recognition. "I know I shouldn't have made any noise, but you're
really very good," the boy said cheerfully. He plopped
himself down on the soft green grass and undid the knots in his shirt slowly.
He seemed completely oblivious to the danger he was in.
"What are you doing
here?" Satei asked, more curious then worried.
The boy gave him a
mischievous grin. "Scrounging cherries," he said, finally getting
his shirt open. He pulled out a lush cherry and popped
it into his mouth cheerfully.
"That's enough to
get you beheaded!" Satei said, aghast. "Stealing from the Emperor!"
The boy gave him a
sideways glance as he ate another cherry. "For such a little
thing? Tortured, maybe, but not killed. Besides, the
Emperor, may he live for a hundred years, is rumored to be pretty nice.
He has more cherries here then he can possibly eat, so I doubt he'll miss
a few. Want a cherry?"
The boy's cheerful
irreverence charmed Satei more then he cared to admit.
"No, I do not want a cherry," Satei said, though he put up his sword slightly.
"What's your name?" he asked.
The boy thought for
a moment. "You can call me Nuriko," he said.
Satei laughed.
"That's not your name. No one has the nerve to name their child
after one of the Seishi- it's too presumptuous."
"Did I say it was
my name?" Nuriko asked, offended. "But I have more right to
claim it then most," he continued, though he didn't elaborate. "I
would have to be awfully stupid to just give you my real name- you could
have me tracked."
Satei was just about
to challenge him when he heard the sound of someone else approaching.
Nuriko must have heard it as well, for his ears perked up and he started
to gather what remained of his cherries. "I have to bring some
back so I can prove to the guys I actually came here," Nuriko explained.
The pieces fell into
place. Nuriko had come over the wall on a dare from the village
boys, probably to prove some point. As he looked
at the boy's petite build, he understood how Nuriko must have been compelled
constantly to prove himself. "If you take a right after you
climb over, you'll find a short cut to the public gardens," Satei said.
"Thanks," Nuriko said
with a grin. "If you're ever in town, I'll look you up and
treat you to tea as a way of saying thank you."
"How would you know
I was there?" Satei couldn't resist asking.
"Nothing goes on in
town without my being aware of it, Satei-sama... everyone knows me."
Satei didn't even
get a chance to asked how Nuriko knew his name, for the boy had already
vanished over the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chichiri looked at
the house the lay snuggled in the crook of the mountain, smiling to himself-
a real smile beneath the mask he still wore. Whistling cheerfully,
he walked towards the house, listening. Sure enough, it came.
"Shun'u no baka!"
a voice yelled, and a second later, a man darted out of the door as though
he was being chased by the hounds of hell.
Chichiri's brother
star Tasuki, the man also known as Shun'u and Genrou, raced away.
The red head darted towards the trees and Chichiri knew it would take a
while to track him down. Tasuki knew these mountains like the
back of his hand, and the past eighteen years had taught him the best hiding
places among the many possibilities.
"Konnichi wa, Chichiri-san!"
a voice said from behind him.
Chichiri's grin grew
even broader as he turned around to face his friend's oldest son.
"Ohayo, Dokun-chan! Have your parents been fighting again,
no da?" he asked the youngster.
The boy tossed his
long ponytail over his shoulder and sighed. "No more then usual.
Sometimes I wonder why the two bothered to get married at all."
Chichiri chuckled
as he looked into the somewhat frustrated face of the boy.
"Strange as it may sound, they actually love each other very much, and
fighting is a way they show it, no da. What would it be like
if they didn't fight?"
The boy frowned as
he concentrated for a moment, then his eyes grew wide. "You
know, I never tried to think about it that way. I can't remember
a time when they weren't ready to hurt the other."
"Have they ever hurt
each other?"
"Aside from each other's
pride? No," Dokun answered after consideration.
"They each have so
much pride it would be hard not to hurt, no da!" Chichiri said. "But
if you ever get worried, just think of this: your father is a very strong,
fit man. If he wasn't holding back, he would have killed
your mother years ago, no da."
"That's not reassuring,"
Dokun answered. The two walked together until they came to
the fence in front of the house, and each took a somewhat precarious seat
on it.
"It will be fine- after all, if he didn't kill her when she washed
his mouth out with soap, he won't kill her now, no da." Chichiri
stretched slowly, feeling each one of his years as his looked on his friend's
son. "Think it's safe to go in yet?"
The boy shook his
head. "Another few minutes at least."
Dokun was handsome.
His hair was thick and black like his mother's, yet he had his father's
golden eyes and trim build. Even though he should have looked
like his father, he didn't. His expression was too thoughtful,
and was probably brighter then both of his parents put together.
Tasuki claimed to be completely baffled by it, by Chichiri always sensed
his friend's pride in his eldest son's abilities. The boy was
good at most of what he did, and at fifteen, was turning into a man that
any father would let their daughter marry- if she thought she could put
up with her in-laws. Which was saying a lot.
Unbeknown to the rest
of the seishi, Tasuki had been betrothed to a girl of his village by his
parents when he was ten. When he ran away at fifteen, he had
managed to shame her, which hadn't earned him any points on her account.
Shortly after Miaka and Taka had left for their world, she had finally
cornered him long enough to force him to actually go through with the marriage-
and neither of them had been very happy about it, but it had been a matter
of family honor.
Tasuki and his not-so-happy
bride, Arashi, had spent the first year of their marriage fighting.
She had not been fond of most of the bandits, while he resented her intrusion
into his otherwise ideal (to him) life. Eventually they had
learned to coexist peacefully and even love the other, but their pattern
had been set. Fight, and fight, and then fight some more. Tasuki's
"I-hate-women" attitude had hardly helped matters.
"So how are your siblings,
no da?" Chichiri asked.
Dokun smiled.
"Growing much larger- I think Ryuumi is the prettiest girl in the village,
while Hakurou already has otousan's temper."
"If Ryuumi looks anything
like your mother, I'm sure she is," Chichiri said. "And what
about you, no da?"
The boy twisted his
fingers nervously. "I want to enter the government, but otousan
says he'd rather see me take his place as the next leader of the Mount
Reikoku bandits," Dokun sighed with reservation.
"And what does your
mother say, no da?"
"Kaasan says that
she'd much rather see me become a street sweeper then a bandit.
She says it's bad enough that she has to let Kouji-ojisan come around here
whenever he wants, but for me to actually join the rest of the -what did
she call them?- "uncouth barbarians" would be something she simply would
not permit."
Chichiri shut his
eyes, trying not to laugh. Dokun sounded so concerned, yet
the seishi recognized that the matter really wasn't anything his parents
had any say over. "Have you told them what you wanted, no da?"
"I would if they stopped
yelling at each other long enough to hear what I had to say."
Chichiri just kept
smiling as he leapt of the fence. "Do not let it worry
you yet," the monk advised. "You're young yet.
Let's go see your mother, no da."
The two headed for
the back of the house, and Chichiri smiled as he saw a woman standing outside
of the kitchen door, beating a rug passionately. She
was a woman of medium height, with sparkling blue eyes and silky black
hair that was caught back in a pony-tail that was falling out.
Her body was trim, but the angry look on her face made her frighteningly
imposing.
Chichiri remembered
the first time he had seen her. She had been eighteen then,
and her hair had been shorn to her shoulders. In
truth, he had mistook her for a boy until Tasuki had grudgingly admitted
that she was his wife. "Konnichi wa, Arashi-san!" he called.
She looked up, and
Chichiri was relieved to see the smile that crossed her lips.
Apparently, she wasn't in one of THOSE moods. He remembered,
in a rather respectful way, the time she had taken it into her head that
it had been HIS fault that Tasuki was such a pain in the ass.
Arashi had made him miserable for the entire week he had deemed to stay,
but Tasuki's pleading glances made sure Chichiri had returned.
Arashi had been sweetly apologetic, explaining that her pregnancy (she
had been carrying Hakurou at the time) had made her even more waspish then
usual.
Arashi put the rug
beater down and walked briskly over to him, reaching up to catch his face
in her hands. With a stunning smile she kissed his cheeks,
and Chichiri thought, for the millionth time, that Tasuki was amazingly
lucky to have such a woman as his wife. "Ohayo, Houjin-san," she
said. "We haven't seen you in months!"
"These feet travel
whatever path looks good at the time, no da!" he said cheerfully.
"But I did come back, didn't I?"
She frowned up at
him and cuffed him playfully on his arm. "Hai, hai," she agreed.
"Is there something particular you wanted, or did you come to see that
hooligan I was stupid enough to marry?" she asked. There was
no real anger in her eyes, something the seishi thanked Suzako for.
Chichiri hesitated,
trying to tell her with his eyes that this was something that the children
should not know about. While few would call Arashi overly perceptive,
she seemed to get the message. "Well, we'll just have to wait
for him to come out of the woods," she said grudgingly. "I
think he's sulking."
"What were you two
fighting about this time, no da?" Chichiri couldn't keep himself from asking.
The saga of Tasuki and his wife was FINE entertainment as far as the monk
was concerned.
Arashi mumbled something,
and Chichiri raised an eyebrow, his quick ears missing it.
Dokun apparently didn't, and cracked up in peals of innocent laughter.
"Kaasan, you DIDN'T!" the boy wheezed between gasps for breath.
Arashi flushed slightly,
and Chichiri decided that prying the story of her latest marital spat out
of her would be well worth the time. Besides, it would give
them something to do until the elusive fire-haired seishi returned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boushin was impossible,
Satei thought as he entered the Emperor's private quarters.
His robes of state had been carelessly tossed aside, and Satei was barely
able to keep from straightening up after his cousin.
Boushin was wearing a pair of ink-stained pants and his hair was tied tightly
back in a no-nonsense chignon, hardly looking like the son of the self-proclaimed
"most beautiful man in the world".
Anyone looking at
the young men would have sworn that they were brothers rather then cousins.
Each had the same rich brown hair and elegant features, and moved
with a regal bearing that only those born to rule seemed to have.
Boushin, though, was an inch or so shorter then his cousin and seemed to
have inherited his mother's more peaceful temperament. The
young Emperor was exceptionally laid back, and tolerated the endless hours
of court with nary a complaint, even though Satei was aware of how much
he hated them.
Right now the
Emperor was leaning over a stack of ledgers, occasionally swearing as he
scribbled frantically. Satei sighed and elegantly sat
down on the nearest chair. "Boushin, don't you have advisors
to do that for you?" he asked. The young man started with surprise,
and Satei realized that Boushin had been too engrossed by his numbers to
hear him enter. "Gomen nasai," he apologized.
Boushin stretched,
rubbing his eyes. "It's my own fault. I've been
too busy with this garbage," he said with a derisive snort.
"As for my advisors, you know as well as I do that most of them are so
crooked they can't walk straight. I would hate to have to start
ordering beheadings when I can avoid it by doing a little work.
I don't want to go down in history as a tyrant."
"I hardly think you
need to worry about that," Satei said. "I wanted to let you
know that I caught someone in the gardens scrounging cherries."
The Emperor smiled.
"I hope they enjoyed them- Suzako knows that I'm not allowed to eat them
for fear that someone managed to poison them somehow."
Satei smacked a hand
against his forehead melodramatically. "Aren't you the least
bit concerned about someone breaching Palace security?"
Boushin rose to his
feet and continued to work the cricks out of his neck by rolling his shoulders.
"Not really. I figure that my guards will get them before they can
assassinate me, and if they don't, the person is going to spend the rest
of his very short life being tortured."
Satei was growing
frustrated with his cousin's carefree attitude. "You're impossible,"
he said with a sigh.
"I try," the Emperor
said impishly. Then he yawned. "Do you ever
get bored?"
The sudden change
in Boushin's tone told Satei that the Emperor was going to be serious for
a while. "Bored? What do you mean?"
"Bored. Trapped.
Tired of routine. Ready to climb over the walls and join a
group of traveling players," Boushin elaborated.
Satei sighed.
"The constant guards do get a little tiring, but we don't have much choice.
Besides, most people would kill to be in your position- how many men have
a harem as extensive as yours?"
Boushin shuddered.
"PLEASE don't mention the harem- those ladies frighten me.
Either they are beautiful air-heads or scheming vipers.
How come I can't just have a nice, intelligent woman who actually sees
me instead of the stupid bucket I have to wear on my head?"
"Because you're the
Emperor. As far as most people are concerned, you ARE the bucket
on your head, as you so elegantly put it. Take my advice and marry
one of the airheads," Satei advised. "That way you won't have
to worry about them killing you so they can be a regent for their son."
Boushin opened his
mouth to reply, but shut it just as quickly. Satei could see
his cousin's hazel eyes screw up as he thought. "We're leaving,"
he announced.
"Nani?" Satei asked.
His cousin was brilliant, but sometimes his thoughts were so erratic that
having a conversation with him was like trying to catch the wind.
"Just for a little
while," Boushin hurriedly explained. "I want to go into the
city."
"What for?" Satei
asked.
"Just to looked around,"
Boushin said. He reached up and pulled a couple to the jeweled
sticks out of his hair, sending it cascading half-way down his back.
He rushed over to his vanity and started to comb out the mass of hair.
"Fine.
Let me send word to the Guard Captain and-"
"No," Boushin said
firmly. He turned around and smiled innocently.
"I want to go into the city in secret, and just have a look around.
I don't want to be trailed around. You can make sure I get
back here in one piece."
Satei opened his mouth
to protest. "I don't think that's a very good idea!
What if-"
"We won't be caught.
And besides, I can always order you to come with me and keep your mouth
shut. I've been wanting to do this for so long!
Remember all those stories your Kaasan used to read to us about princes
sneaking off into the cities in disguise?"
Satei kept the million
objections that went rolling through his head quiet. Boushin
was bound and determined to do this, and if Satei didn't agree, the young
Emperor would just sneak off on his own. With a sigh, Satei went
back to his room to get dressed in clothes that would be less conspicuous
in the city. While Satei had little experience in the city,
his few visits made him much better prepared then his cousin, who was all
for rolling in a pit of mud so he looked enough like his ideal of a peasant.
The two crept over
the same wall that Nuriko had taken a few hours earlier.
Boushin had been subjected to the same training, so his body was fit.
Satei prayed for no major incidences, but it seemed like his hopes were
doomed to failure. The young Emperor raced through
the streets, his innocent manner attracting many curious looks.
Satei followed after him, muttering apologies and excuses that his brother
was "rather simple".
As luck would have
it, Boushin was so busy staring at a street magician that he failed to
avoid a young group of toughs that were wandering through.
One of them, who seemed to be slightly drunk, crashed heavily into the
handsome young Emperor. "What are you doing, baka yarou?"
Satei opened his mouth
to attempt to smooth things over, but Boushin turned around, a glint in
his eyes. "I'm watching the street magician- they're
really rather good, aren't they?" he said sweetly. The young Emperor
was in such high spirits due to getting away from his numerous advisors
and somewhat over protecting mother that he left himself wide open.
"You owe my friend
an apology for getting in his way!" another one of them piped.
"I think 10 ryu would cover it, don't you?"
Satei was not about
to tolerate such behavior. The Emperor, being shook down like a commoner?
"I suggest you leave him alone," Satei said in an icy voice.
The toughs looked
at him, and Satei was suddenly all too aware of the fact that there were
six of them, and only two of them- and worse, neither of them were carrying
their swords. "Really! How impudent can you be?"
the one who had crashed into Boushin asked. "I think the price
just went up to twenty ryu. Or else my friends will have to
get satisfaction from you in a different way."
"I'd like to see you
try," Satei said.
"Calm down, Satei-kun,"
Boushin said, his eyes wide with worry. "There's no need to fight,"
Boushin said, trying to keep things from getting out of control.
If his advisors ever found out he had gotten into a street fight, he could
say good-bye to what little freedom he had, something he most definitely
did not want happening.
"I agree," an alto
voice said from behind the royal duo. "Don't you agree, Kirin-chan?"
The entire group looked
over at the pair who had just arrived. Satei wasn't that surprised
to see Nuriko standing there, a hulking giant of a man with short, feathery
hair accompanying him. Nuriko was standing cockily, seemingly
open top attack, but the bullies' reactions were very interesting.
They paled and started
to back away. Satei wondered why they seemed so frightened-
there were six of them, and though large, Kirin was only one man.
"I think fighting is always a bad idea, Ryuuen-chan," the large man replied
in a surprisingly light tenor voice. "But if necessary,
I guess we can always oblige, ne?"
Nuriko -apparently
the "Ryuuen" who Kirin had addressed- smiled sweetly at the group.
"Now I suggest you get out of here, or else I get nasty.... I'm sure you
don't want Nam-Jung to know you were making eyes at that pretty red head
last week, do you, Xi-kun? And I'm sure your mother would
be VERY interested in knowing exactly who you're calling friends nowadays,
Ping-kun. Should I go on?" he asked. The gang shook
their heads and took off, their nervousness written all over their faces.
The four people remaining
stared at each other silently before Satei spoke. "So your
name is Ryuuen, isn't it?"
Ryuuen looked a little
uncomfortable. "Chou Ryuuen," he said. "And my
friend is Li Kirin. I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."
"So soon?" Boushin
asked. "You know her?" he asked his cousin.
"Her?
Your eyes need work, cousin. That's a guy," Satei said.
"Anyway, Ryuuen in the one I caught stealing cherries."
Boushin frowned at
Ryuuen. "I think it's your eyes that need work.
Ryuuen is most definitely a woman," he said, stepping forward and taking
Ryuuen's hand in his own. "Charmed," he said, raising Ryuuen's
hand for a kiss.
Ryuuen giggled.
"It's my pleasure, heika-sama."
Boushin started in
surprise. "How did you know?" he demanded.
Ryuuen's smile was
sly. "I know everything."
By this time, Satei
had finally worked himself out of his shock. "You- You're a
woman?" he demanded, trying to see some curves.
"Hai!" Ryuuen chirped
cheerfully.
"But- but... you let
me think you were a guy!" Satei protested.
"You made that mistake
on your own. If you had asked, I would have told you I am most
definitely a female," Ryuuen answered as she reclaimed her hand from the
Emperor.
"I don't believe it!"
Satei said, then darted forward to grope her chest.
"Hentai!!" Ryuuen
yelped, slamming the young swordsman in the face with a mean uppercut,
sending him tumbling backwards.
"Most definitely a
woman," Boushin said, sounding like he was ready to fall into uncontrollable
laughter. Satei was rubbing his jaw, trying to collect his scattered
wits.
"Just because I happen
to dress like a man doesn't make me one!" Ryuuen snapped temperamentally
at the man who was sitting on the ground. "Why the hell did
you just fondle me? You may be royalty, but that means squat
to me!"
"Calm down, Ryuuen,"
Kirin said. "He didn't mean anything by it, and you have to
admit this isn't the first time this has happened."
Ryuuen grumbled a
little to herself, then tossed her head, sending her long braid swinging.
"It's not my fault no one believes me," she replied, though her voice was
calmer.
"If you didn't bind
your chest, people might actually be able to see, rather then have the
urge to feel for themselves," Kirin retorted, ducking out of Ryuuen's range,
a wise move.
Almost reflexively,
Ryuuen swung out behind her. If Kirin hadn't backed away, she
would have landed a very nice punch. "You're so MEAN!" she
exclaimed petulantly.
"She always does that,"
Kirin said to the two other men. "May I ask what you are doing in
town without an escort, heika-sama?"
Boushin was finding
the entire situation quite fascinating. First, there was a
girl who dressed like a boy who had one of the best punches he'd ever seen.
The same girl manage to hit his cousin square in the face, and now his
beloved (though sometimes irritatingly overprotective) cousin was sitting
on the ground, trying to regain what little wits he had. Then
there was the man who was speaking to him, looking him directly in the
eye, rather then cowering at his feet. All in all, it was a
unique experience for the young ruler, and he had no intention of letting
it go. Looking at Ryuuen, he privately thought she was more
attractive then any of the women in his harem- she was very pretty, and
honest with her emotions.
"Heika-sama?"
Kirin asked again, jarring him from his thoughts.
"I decided I wanted
to see my capital," he said, somewhat defensively. "I can't
do that properly with twenty men trailing after me, and six carrying me
in a stupid chair."
Ryuuen snapped out
of her bad mood as though it had never been. "I'm sure it can't
be that much fun," she said sympathetically. Her eyes sparkled,
and it happened.
Boushin fell head-over-heels
in love.
Ryuuen stood in the
middle of the street, unaware that the world had just become hers.
The petite girl's hair, some of which was slipping out of its long braid,
blew in the slight breeze, and Boushin was overwhelmed with the desire
to untie it and run his fingers through the silky strands, and hold her
close to him.
Satei, though, was
more familiar with his cousin, and he saw the slightly astounded look on
his face, and the way his eyes were clinging to Ryuuen. He
decided to step in and give Boushin time to collect himself.
"Ryuuen, even though you offered to buy the tea, I think it's only fair
if I pay- consider it an apology for my rudeness. Do you know a good
place for the four of us to go?"
Ryuuen turned her
attention to him, and reached out a hand, offering to help him rise.
"Sure. I know everything about this city. Just
follow me, and I'll show you the time of your life!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was late at night
at the Kou household. Tasuki, Chichiri and Arashi sat at a
table, sharing conversation and tea. Tasuki had finally
gotten the urge to return, and Arashi had let him off easily this time,
only yelling at him for ten minutes before she let the matter drop.
Chichiri had watched as Tasuki had fumed silently, but decided to leave
the matter alone.
Now the trio was in
the kitchen, talking peacefully. Arashi and Tasuki were in
a mellow mood, hardly sniping at each other at all. Chichiri
decided that this was probably the best chance he was going to get.
At the next comfortable lull in conversation, he spoke. "I've
been wanting to talk to you about something important, no da," he said
hesitantly.
"Eh?" Tasuki said,
while Arashi raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"It's about your children...
I wanted to ask you how much you've told them about the Suzaku Seishi,
no da" Chichiri said quietly.
Tasuki's face grew
hard, while Arashi's lost all expression. "Nothing except what most
people know," Arashi answered for the both of them.
"Nani no da?" Chichiri
asked, a little surprised.
"Because it's not
necessary for them to know," Tasuki replied grimly. "I don't
want my children to grow up with that kind of history haunting their dreams.
I still have nightmares, you now, and there's no way I'm chancing any of
that happening to them."
"That's why you won't
let me call you Tasuki and why you call me Houjin now, no da," Chichiri
mused. "So they don't even know you're Tasuki?"
"Bah!" Tasuki said.
"Most people think I'm dead, and I have no intention of clearing up that
misconception. If you remember, I didn't want any of it in
the first place."
"Hai, I remember."
Chichiri shut his eyes, trying to keep from getting angry.
He had no right to criticize the way Tasuki raised his children.
Tasuki was a surprisingly good father, and Chichiri doubted he could do
half as well as the bandit had done. "But you're just going to forget
about the others, no da?" he asked, trying to keep the anger out of his
voice.
"No, dammit!"
Tasuki snapped, earning himself a glare from his wife for the use of profanity.
"I think of them every day! I named my oldest son for Chiriko,
and my daughter's name is a variation of Nuriko's! I just don't
Dokun or Hakurou feeling any responsibilities to the past.
I don't want to take away any of Ryuumi's innocence. I WILL
protect them at all costs, even if it means leaving them ignorant."
Arashi spoke up.
"Perhaps it's time for us to tell Dokun, though. He's fifteen
years old- that's old enough to be married. He should be able to
handle the truth... we can't deny him his heritage," she said softly.
Tasuki looked at her
grave expression. "Later... we'll tell him later," he promised his
wife, reaching out an squeezing her hand in a rare gesture of affection.
"But when will later
come?" Chichiri demanded. "He won't be around here much longer, no
da."
Arashi turned alarmed
eyes on him. "What do you mean?" she asked urgently.
"Something's not wrong, is it?"
Chichiri shook his
head and tried to smile reassuringly. "Shun'u, he's growing up.
I think in the next few months he'll want to go to the city and apply for
a government job."
"Government? Bah!
He's taking my place as leader of the Reikoku bandits!" Tasuki said firmly.
"Not if I have anything
to say about it," Arashi replied. "What do you mean, government?"
Chichiri smiled sadly.
"You named him well- he's a scholar at heart. Don't force him
to take your place, Tasuki. He'd be desperately unhappy."
"But-" Tasuki started
to protest, but was interrupted by an immense shaking of the ground.
On his arm, he could feel the warm sensation that meant his symbol had
appeared. Similar, Chichiri started in surprise, opening his
eyes wide in alarm. "What the HELL was that?" Tasuki demanded.
Chichiri could think
of only one thing to say. "Trouble."
END PART ONE